Hawaii Visitor Spending Falls 9% as September Storms Disrupt Tourism

Hawaii's visitor spending fell 9.0% in September 2026 from a year earlier, as storms disrupted flights, cruise itineraries and travel to the islands, according to preliminary state figures released on October 29.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported $1.41 billion in spending for the month, compared with approximately $1.55 billion in September 2025. Total arrivals declined 3.6% to 672,990. The average visitor spent $283 a day, up 5.4%, but stayed for 7.39 days on average, down from 8.25 days a year earlier. The shorter visits help explain why higher daily expenditure did not prevent a fall in total spending.

Kauai recorded some of the steepest losses. Visitor arrivals there fell 35% to 60,224, and spending dropped 44.3% to $105.4 million. Hurricane Lowell passed close to the islands from September 6 to 8, causing flooding, outages and damage, particularly on Kauai. Hurricane Nolo brought additional heavy rain later in the month. The disruptions affected air travel and prevented some cruise ships from making planned port calls.

Local businesses also reported effects beyond visitor counts. Hawaii News Now reported that restaurants faced fewer customers and reduced working hours as storms and travel costs weighed on demand. State officials said a recovery grant programme was offering eligible storm-affected small businesses and nonprofits $5,000 or $10,000 in support.

The decline was not uniform across the islands: Maui's arrivals increased 10.5% from September 2025, although its visitor spending slipped 1.5%. Across Hawaii, spending during the first nine months of 2026 still rose 2.8% year on year to $16.62 billion, while arrivals increased 1.3%. The September figures are preliminary and may be revised.